You read that right folks. Just two nights in Maui. Matt laughed out loud when he heard the location for the spring FritoLay meeting, Maui. Only one month after being in Hawaii for the wedding.
Then he laughed again at what cheapskates the company is to fly them over there for such a short amount of time. I was not planning on going because, what a tease!
Then Mal told Matt that those were her and Gavin's two days off and they have never been to Maui so they were going to meet him there. Better yet, they would all be staying together. Matt said, "Abby, you've got to come, I insist." And with that, he bought me a ticket. I was so excited to get to spend some time with the newlyweds. Legit fifth trip to Hawaii in 17 months…
during a pandemic.Of course, this meant that once again, we were on separate flights. I had something like a five-hour layover in LA. I spent time on the phone with Ava and Grayson since it was their P-day. I was texting with Kat and Mal. Of course, Graham wanted updates about the plane and airports. And I checked in with Callie. It was great, though I didn't get as much schooling done as I thought I would. It was my first day of the spring semester! We sure appreciated that Romney was willing to come to stay with the kiddos for a few nights. They were thrilled as well because with Romney comes baby Pearson!
It was fun to fly to an island in Hawaii I haven't been to.
Matt was sweet and greeted me with a fresh lei when I landed. Also, the mask mandate ended literally a half hour later. Matt asked anxiously, "Did you get to take your mask off?"
"No, why?"
"The mandate just ended."
figures.
Still, the Uber driver was all masked up. She was probably bugged that we weren't but after that long flight, we just couldn't. I was surprised at how savannah-like the terrain was on the way to the resort.
The view from the room was magical.
Mal and Gav arrived later that evening. They burst in with energy and laughter. "They are perfect for each other," I thought. The passion with which they described the latest Netflix series they are watching had me laughing out loud. Also, they are very light packers. Each just had a small backpack and yet Gavin pulled out a full-size blanket from Belize that he spread on their bed. I was so happy to spend time with the newlyweds, this is what I came for. They have also said several times, "We just can't stop talking about our wedding and how perfect it was for us."
If I had come alone with Matt, I would have attended the morning yoga class, grabbed a smoothie, walked the path around the resort, and done homework on the beach. Instead, we breakfasted first thing. Mallerie wakes up hungry! In fact, she said that is what wakes her up. Too funny. After breakfast, we went into Ross and each found a treasure.
The mask mandate went away while Mal and Gav were at the airport in Kauai. Gavin took his off and a guy told him he was "raw doggin' it!" and gave him a fist pump. Well, raw doggin' was the phrase for the rest of the trip. We raw dogged the heck out of that island.
We saw a waterfall (of course!), and turtles in the ocean where we sat on a bench and talked. Remember? It is the connections that matter. I feel so blessed to have these adventurous, loving souls as part of my family.
And for once we were all exploring something for the first time together!
At the gift shop across the street, Mallerie fell in love with a treasure. A coconut that read Just Maui'd. It's perfect. They originally had plans to send a coconut to Ava and also Gavin's family. Then Gavin said, "Wait, are we really going to spend $90 on coconuts?" They made the right choice, getting just the one:)
With Gavin as our guide, we saw the island!
We stopped for lunch at the acclaimed food trucks—stumbled upon them really. As Mal and I waited for Gav to pick up the acaí bowls, a little boy with curly blonde hair ran around. We both commented that he was a mini Gavin. Then when Gav sat down, he concluded, "Mal, that is totally what our kid is going to look like."
Haleakalā
We drove to the top of a volcano! One of the world's largest volcanos. See, I would have had a totally different agenda.
It is weird being the mother-in-law, cause it's just…me!
Driving up to the top was interesting because it was like going through the different lands on Candyland: farmland, more savannah, straight tropics, and at the top it was volcanic. Man, they scooched those cars close together up there. We joined others at the top of the volcano to watch the sunset. I don't know why I pictured it being just us:/
It was trippy to be above the clouds. It was messing with my mind—like it should be the ocean in front of us. It was beautiful indeed. Having just studied volcanoes and having a better understanding of their crucial importance as a carbon source made this feel like a fascinating field trip for me. I brought a souvenir rock back (I have since learned that it is bad luck to do so. Classic tourist mistake).
By the time we got down the mountain we were all pretty pooped and were looking forward to seeing Matt a bit at the hotel. However, we needed to first stop by sweet Aysia and Cameron's place to say hello. Oh and look, she has made us dinner! Graham would have loved taking my place. Cameron is an airline pilot. The two of them gabbed and gabbed at the wedding (I was so happy he found someone to hang out with;) It was worth the stop. I was beyond fascinated with their house.
We had a hard time settling down that night because the tales of our day got rather dramatic as we recounted them to Matt. I am sure he was devastated to miss it. I did my Duolingo while he recounted his day and Mallerie held her belly in laughter.
Day TWO
Waking up to that view was dreamy.
Matt got to join us the next day so, yippeeeeee!
In addition to all the annoying alarms, we forgot to turn off on our watches (including me), Mal's hungry belly got us out the door pretty quickly. I am such a diva around this group. I had spent the day before uncomfortable in my suit in case we swam, and I didn't want to do that again. I said, "I didn't fly all this way to look like a fool!" So I got ready. They packed up all their stuff, including the items Mal asked me to bring them, into their tiny magical backpacks and we were off.
However, as we were loading the bags to drive away from the luscious resort that I had never really seen, I asked if I could walk down the path to the beach. It really was a glorious beach. They say that Maui is the island that all the old people go to. As now we are getting closer to that category, I can see why. Matt always says, "Follow the old people, they know what they are doing."
(You can see some of the other islands from Maui.)
The Road to Hana
And yet…we might not be ready to follow all of the old people's advice because my elderly friends from water aerobics said the road to Hana was a must. Honestly, we felt like it was more of a bust. It was spending time together that made the day delightful, but not the drive. It is looooooong. There is nowhere to turn around so it was giving me a claustrophobic feeling. We passed cars that had died on the side of the road that were still there, probably because there was no way for a tow truck to get to them. Those cars were RAW DOGGIN'. I mean, what the???? This car was one of several.
However, there were signs indicating that we would be coming upon world-famous banana bread at about the halfway point. But guess what? they were out. Haha. We did enjoy smoothies and Gavin got a pulled pork. Where are people getting these supplies?
We enjoyed other stops, some more than others. I was okay climbing in my skirt while Gavin and Mal explored the waterfall. It was a choice I made.
After many turns that all started to look the same—with waterfalls to boot—we reached the famous black sand beach at Waianapanapa. However, because it is a State Park, reservations were required and there were not any spots left. So, just like that, without any compassion or compromise, we were turned away. None of us really had anything to say, we were pretty bummed. It had been a long drive. We drove to the next beach which was black but not from the sand, it was more like black mud.
Mal found a bathroom. Gavin finally got to fly his drone. I watched. Matt contemplated. He and Mal were contemplating the same thing because both of them thought to get on the website and see if Hawaiian residents could still make reservations. Yep! We booked a spot and drove right back. We were bummed it wasn't the same girl. Not that we wanted to stick it to her, or maybe we did.
We made it!
As beautiful as it is, that volcanic residue hurts to walk on. Like bad. Mal gave me her shoes and she climbed on Gav's back. It was so gorgeous that I literally could not stop taking pictures.
There were more drone flying opportunities.
On our hike up, I noticed a loose rock on the steep trail. To get up the trail I had to climb on it. Sure enough, on the way down, it gave way as I stepped on it. Mallerie's instinct was to come to help me but Gav pulled her back to stay out of the way of the tumbling boulder. These little gentlemanly gestures to keep her safe are not lost on me. I see it all. He is very sweet with her.
We said goodbye to the black sand and began our journey back to town. The good thing was that all the time in the car gave us an opportunity to visit with each other, which is what we came for. Mal and I sat in the back. Lots of laughs. They are a fun couple to hang with! Later, Cameron sent a video he shot while flying over Maui of the road to Hana. It was a better view and only took minutes. It was fascinating to see all the waterfalls from that vantage point. You can also see how loooooong the road is. So, I suggest taking a helicopter tour and calling it good!
Some of our views:
Gavin did manage to jump off a waterfall though. Matt unfortunately wore his swim attire all day for nothing.
We were cutting it a bit close, time-wise, to get the rental car filled with gas and still eat before our flights left. We went to the food trucks again so we could all choose our own thing. At my stand, I saw there were only two left of something very special. I bought them both and stuffed them in my bag. Back at the table, I announced that I had a surprise. No one could figure out what it would be! With great excitement, I presented two loaves of freshly baked banana bread.
It was an edible souvenir. Some of my favorite things I gathered on the island were from nature, even if it means that I am cursed now. I will add them to my shelf at home. Just as Mallerie will add her Just Maui'd coconut to her shelf. When she was giving me a video tour of her place, I said, "That shelf looks familiar. I love it."
She said, "Look our stuffies are kissing!" Gotta have a place to display your treasures.
Matt and I were on separate red eyes. He had a big old layover in Denver so I hung out at the SLC airport in the early morning hours and listened to various passengers play the grand piano in the foyer. I did homework and dozed. No complaints. It was interesting to watch the airport come alive for the day. For one of my classes, we had to introduce ourselves with two truths and a lie. One of my truths was that I have been to Hawaii five times in the last 17 months. No one guessed correctly.
Graham was impressed that I got to fly on a rare military honor plane. You never know what opportunities life will throw at you. I say, when they come, take them!
